Its participation in the song contest was only interrupted once, when TVE withdrew from the edition of 1986, which was held in Santiago, as a protest against the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.

This protest song, which transmitted a deep feeling of sadness, was not one of the favourite ones to win the contest, in fact being among the least favoured entries in the betting odds.

In 1981, TVE achieved the second Spanish victory in the festival, which was held in Mexico City, with Francisco [es] and his song "Latino".

Amaya Saizar, who was the vocalist of Trigo Limpio in the OTI Festival, competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 as member of the band Bravo.

Other artists such as the band Alex y Cristina tried to represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986, but two years after being rejected, they participated in the OTI Festival in 1988 achieving 10th place.